The present invention relates to an electronic camera apparatus according to the DCF (Design rule for Camera File system) Standard and a file management method.
As is generally known, the DCF Standard is specified as a file management structure in storing picture data obtained by picture taking in a recording medium in the electronic camera apparatus. According the DCF Standard, conditions with respect to the name of a file in recording data, the name of a directory keeping the file, the location of storage and the like are specified in detail.
By the way, such a file management structure according to the DCF Standard is very convenient for managing groups of data to be recorded on the part of an electronic camera apparatus. However, on the part of users, since users are permitted to give arbitrary names neither to groups of data recorded nor to directories important for file management, there arises a problem that the electronic camera apparatus is inconvenient to handle.
In particular, the capacity of a recording medium connected to the electronic camera apparatus complying with the DCF Standard increases more and more every year, and in future, if the recording medium becomes the hard disk of a PC (Personal Computer) itself by using a wireless technique, it will have an enormous capacity.
And, in such a situation, it spoils the convenience of users in file management remarkably that users can give no arbitrary name to files or directories.
Further, a known technique with respect to this kind of file management structure is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appl. KOKAI No. 10-177646. However, this technique is adapted to prevent the existence of a plurality of files having the same name by generating a non-overlapping characteristic file name as long as pictures are recorded by mean of the same camera apparatus, and nothing is disclosed for coping with the above-described problem that users can give no arbitrary name in the file management structure based on the DCF Standard.